The present invention relates to an electrical tool and also to a tool system.
Electrical tools are used in highly diverse applications. They are widespread as manually-guided electrical tools in highly diverse configurations depending on the intended purpose and site of application. Manually-guided electrical tools are designed either as mains-powered tools or as battery and/or rechargeable-powered tools. Electrical tools powered by rechargeables exist in configurations with permanently installed rechargeables and/or rechargeable packs, by way of which a compact design can be realized that is also extremely stable due to the fact that the housing design is typically closed. Electrical tools powered by rechargeables also exist in configurations with replaceable rechargeable packs.
Electrical tools with permanently installed rechargeables have the advantage that they are compact in size, since the cells can be placed in the housing in an optimum manner. The disadvantage of built-in cells, however, is that, when the rechargeable runs out, the operator must interrupt his work with the electrical tool for a long period of time to recharge the battery. Replacing damaged rechargeable cells is usually not economical and signals the end of the product service life. Rechargeables that are replaceable have the advantage, however, that a “dead” rechargeable pack can be replaced with a charged replacement rechargeable pack, thereby ensuring that work is interrupted only briefly. A defective rechargeable pack can be replaced very easily with another rechargeable pack.
The disadvantage of electrical tools with replaceable rechargeable packs is their large size and typically heavy weight resulting from the detachable connection that is required. The detachable connection between the rechargeable pack and the electrical tool furthermore results in additional housing volume, since rechargeable packs are inserted—either entirely or partially—into corresponding recesses in the housing of the electrical tool. This results in a double-wall construction, consisting of the wall of the housing of the electrical tool and the wall of the rechargeable pack to be inserted.
Electrical tools with replaceable rechargeable packs in particular exist in pistol shapes, for example, with which the rechargeable pack is attached as a separate component via a receptacle in the housing of the electrical tool on the lower end of the handle. The weight distribution and structural size are disadvantages in this case. Furthermore, electrical tools with rechargeable packs also exist as devices having a rod shape, in the case of which the replaceable rechargeable pack is housed in a housing extension aligned with the central longitudinal axis of the housing, the extension being configured as a handle part. With a few devices having a rod-shaped design, it is possible to vary the housing geometry using a joint between the motor part and the handle part.
The disadvantage of these rod-shaped configurations is the typically low rechargeable capacity, since the rod shape allows only relatively small rechargeable cells to be used, due to the limited installation space, in particular when replaceable rechargeable packs are used. The disadvantage of the joint-type design is its greater technical complexity, especially since it does not permit the realization of a housing geometry that is fixed reliably in position when force is applied.